Study of Aripiprazole (Abilify) in Children With Symptoms of Mania

Inclusion Criteria

• Outpatients ages 4-9 years (inclusive)
• Patients who are anticipated to have a Young Mania Rating Scale (Young et al. 1978) of 15 or higher at baseline
• Meet DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder type 1 or 2, cyclothymia, or bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BP NOS) based on the results of both a semi-structured diagnostic research assessment (K-SADS-PL supplemented with mood disorder sections from the WASH-U K-SADS) (Geller et al., 2001; Kaufman et al., 1997) and a clinical interview with a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients who have a history of intolerance to APZ at doses of 0.1mg/kg/day
• Patients who have experienced a manic episode with a documented APZ dose as monotherapy treatment of 0.2 mg/kg/day
• Patients with an active neurological/medical disorder for which treatment with APZ would be contraindicated
• Patients with clinical evidence of autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, Rett's syndrome or other pervasive developmental disorders
• Patients with clinical evidence of mental retardation
• Patients who are known to be allergic or hypersensitive to aripiprazole
• Patients who are unable to swallow pills/capsules
• Patients for whom the need for hospitalization during the course of the study appears likely
• Patients who have a general medical or neurological condition (including clinically significant abnormalities on screening laboratories) that may be considered to be the etiology of the patient's mood disorder
• Patients who have a general medical or neurological condition for which treatment with an atypical antipsychotic would be contraindicated (e.g. tardive dyskinesia)
• Patients who have a general medical or neurological condition that could interfere with the interpretation of clinical response to APZ treatment
• Patients taking psychotropic agents (other than psychostimulants) within one week of baseline (2 weeks for fluoxetine; 3 days for psychostimulants)